Preface
of his companions, who had desired to cheer him up: “What beautiful gift hast thou brought us from the garden in which thou hast been?”
He replied: “I intended to fill the skirts of my robe with roses, when I reached the rose-tree, as presents for my friends; but the perfume of the flowers intoxicated me so much that I let go the hold of my skirts.”
O birds of the morning! Learn love from the moth, because it burnt, lost its life, and found no voice. These pretenders are ignorantly in search of Him, because he who obtained knowledge has not returns.
Panegyric of the Pâdshâh of Islâm: May Allah Perpetuate
His Reign
The good reputation of Sa'di, which is current among the people, the renown of his eloquence, which has spread on the surface of the earth, the products of his friendly pen, which are consumed like sugar, and the scraps of his literary compositions, which are hawked about like bills of exchange, cannot be ascribed to his virtue and perfection, but the lord of the world, the axis of the revolving circle of time, the vice-gerent of Solomon, protector of the followers of the religion, His Majesty the Shâhanshâh Atabek Aa'zm Muzaffaruddin Abu Bekr Sa'd Ben Zanki - the shadow of Allah on earth! O Lord, be pleased with him and with his Kingdom - has looked upon Sa'di with a favourable eye, has praised him greatly, and has shown him sincere affection, so that all men, gentle and simple, love him because the people follow the religion of their King.
- Because thou lookest upon my humble person,
- My merits are more celebrated than those of the sun.
- Although this slave may possess all faults,
- Every fault pleasing the Sultân becomes a virtue.
xii
